Wednesday 23 July 2014

An isolated beauty.

Perth, is a beautiful capital city.......it's a pity it is in Western Australia, but I suspect that is part of its charm and the locals like it like that.

The city of Perth is on the banks of the Swan River with the Indian Ocean only a few kilometres away.  Its population is 1.6 million with that total state population of 2.3 million.

City of Perth taken from Kings Park
Perth's climate is described as "Mediterranean" with warm to hot summers (from mid 30's) and mild winters (17c).   Ha.....mild winter, you mean freezing more like it,  with very cold, windy fronts popping through from time to time....bringing the temp down to 4-6 c.  The wind that accompanies the cold fronts is akin to a cat 1 or 2 cyclone.  Of course, we are here in one of the coldest and wettest months, July...although I am told that August is the actually the coldest.... won't be here to make any comparisons though.

Perth looks new, it is clean, fresh, nothing is far away (including the Swan Valley),  there are lots of green open spaces, fabulous white sandy beaches, people dress well, they look happy as they go about their business and the transport system is truly amazing. For example, we got on a bus that took us to the train station which is situated in the middle of a four lane highway, and the train arrived within a couple of minutes to take us to Perth.  It is planned that way.  The buses and trains all look new.   The cost.... $1.80 one way (concession, of course). We went on the train into Perth twice, once to go shopping and the other to get on a Captain Cook cruise to Fremantle.
Perth Skyline from Barack Street Jetty.
The building on the right with the glass spire is the fabulous Bell Tower.
The Bell Tower is an impressive structure.  It is 82.5 metres (271 ft) high made of copper and glass. There are 18 bells and 12 of them are bells of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, which are very old.   The bells were donated to Western Australia as part of the 1988 Australian bicentenary celebrations.  They come from before the 14th century, were recast in the16th century by Queen Elizabeth I and again recast between 1725 and 1770 by three generations of the Rudhall family, bell founders from Gloucester in England.  They are one of the few sets of royal bells and are the only ones known to have left England.

The twelve St Martin-in-the-Fields bells actually come from a famous church in London's Trafalgar Square and have apparently been rung to celebrate historic events like England's victory over the Spanish Armanda, the WWII victory at El Alamein, and among other events, they have also rung in the New Year at Trafalgar Square for more than 275 years.

Love Locks outside of the Bell Tower
A quaint  and different thing to do is to purchase a 'Love Lock'.  Love Locks originated in China when couples chose to fix a padlock to chains on sections of the Great Wall. Legend says that it symbolised their love and that it would last forever.   It might have started in China but the practice is taking place in many parts of the world...Nevada USA, Russia, South Korea, Italy, Hungry, Japan, Latvia...and the love goes on....So for $30 you can buy your own love lock in Perth,  it will inscribed with your names and the date, you choose a link on the chain and 'lock your Love'








Tuesday 22 July 2014

The Pinnacles

The town of Cervantes, known as the 'Gateway to the Pinnacles' is named after the wreck "Cervantes" and like Port Gregory, has a thriving lobster/crayfish industry.

Situated in the nearby Nambung National Park is the Pinnacles Desert.  In this area of varying colour sand there are literally thousands of limestone pinnacles ranging in size up to 5 metres tall and 2 metres thick at the base.

Apparently, there are a number of theories as to how the pinnacles came about.  The most popular theory is that they were formed thousands of years ago when ancient plant roots formed a weak cementation of calcite within the dunes which have been exposed by wind and shifting sands. Either way, they are an awesome sight and well worth a visit.

The colour of the sand changes with the light or lack thereof....
The pinnacles are pretty tall
Will you be my friend?
"Child!!!"
Awesome...the Pinnacles set against the sea
Also at Cervantes is Lake Thetis which is only one for four known locations where the oldest living fossils - Stromatolites - can be found.  Stromatolites are not pretty things and could be easily overlooked unless you are told something about them.  They are in fact "layered bio-chemical structures that are formed in shallow water by the trapping binding and centurion of sedimentary grains of micro-organisms and provide the most ancient records of life on Earth by fossil remains which date from some 3.5 billion years ago". Phew...what a mouthful, but you get the picture, they are pretty old.
Stromatolites with a sign that says "Get off my Face"..very funny






Sunday 20 July 2014

Pink Lake

After leaving Kalbarri we headed south along the coast road to Cervantes via Port Gregory which is a 'serious' fishing hamlet.  By serious, I mean, fishermen go fishing up the beach on quad bikes.....they need them for all their gear.   The main catch in the area is lobster.

John and view up the beach at Port Gregory
Morning Stop - John, Deb and Nick waiting whilst I made morning coffee. 
Whilst we were stopped there for morning tea, we watched a large truck reverse onto the jetty, unload some crates and wait for a fishing boat to come in that we could see way out in the distance.

We watched the fishing boat coming and thought it would take a lot longer to get to the jetty than it did....it must have been flying.  There was a natural opening in the reef what we could not really see, which is why it took a  shorter the time for vessel to arrive.


Port Gregory has a natural harbour surrounded by 5 kms of exposed reef, a large jetty and water-ski area, although in this cold weather, there were no water skiers, trust me.    I am told the area is also popular for wind-surfing and sand boarding.

The area is also well known for the Pink Lake.  The colour of the lake is due to a bacteria that is trapped in the salt granules.  This provides a rich source of Beta Carotene, which is harvested from small ponds.  As the sun sinks, the lake apparently changes colour from a pink to a slightly darker purple.  We did not see this, but the lake was pretty spectacular anyway.




Sunday 13 July 2014

Whats 'Up' and 'why is it so'

We are loving Perth and the surrounding areas.  It is surprising though, how many places end with the word "up" and some of them can be quite a mouthful.  

We are staying in a suburb called Gwelup, we have been to Joondalup and Karrinyup.  There are others such as Konjonup, Gnowangerup, Jerramungup and Ongerup.  

An article that John read in the West Australian Newspaper on 2 July, answered the question; Why is it so?

This article that John shared with me indicated that there are a couple of schools of thought on this.  

Some say that those towns ending in "up" were named after water holes where Aboriginal family groups gathered or lived before the south was settled by European Settlers.   For example, during World War II, students at the North Perth Primary School cleared the land that was to become 'Goonderup Park'.  They were told that the word 'goonder' was the Aboriginal word for bark cradle and the "up" referred to a nearly swamp.

Others say that the reason that many Great Southern towns end in "up" is because the "up" means "place of" in Noongar (Aboriginal dialect).  For example, the Noongar word for male kangaroo is yonger but the Y fell off somewhere along the line and the town is now called Ongerup.  So, Ongerup means place of the male kangaroo.

Gnowangerup means place of the mallee fowl.  Gnow is Noongar for mallee fowl.  Kojonup means place of a stone axe and Jerramungup means place of the tall standing yate trees.

So all the place names in the Great Southern region which end in "up" have Noongar names which describe what they were known for.

Doesn't make pronouncing some of the names any easier but it is good to know why there are so many "ups"in this area.

Silence is golden....

Or so the words of the song goes (for those of you who are old enough to know).  You have not heard from me for a while because of a number of reasons.  

I had a data issue and used up my monthly download........I have been out and about enjoying myself.....and, I have been on the sick list.

My darling beloved love of my life, Nick, surprised me with some lovely red roses to make me feel better.


I think it did the trick because I am almost back to my normal self.  


Wednesday 2 July 2014

What does an Indian Prince and a cattle station have in common?

Murchison House Station was founded in 1858 by Charles von Bibra to provide meat and wheat to lead miners at Galena, beef to the growing Perth market and remount horses for the British army in India.

Original homestead built by Charles von Bibra and convict labourers in 1858
We went out there to have a look around.  The homestead is about 14 klm east of Kalbarri.  It cost $10 per person for a self guided tour including morning tea on the gardens outside Murchison homestead.
Current Murchison Homestead....had morning tea at one of the tables on the lawn.
The lawns and pool
Beautiful.....
Its rich history has been shaped by the hands of pioneering battlers, wealthy wool merchants and even an Indian Prince ~ His Exalted Highness Prince Mukarram Jah Bahadur, 8th Nizam of Hyderabad.  The short story is that after Indian independence in 1947, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad (the Princes' father) refused to join the Indian Union.  The State of Hyderabad was invaded in 1948 and forcibly annexed but the 7th Nizam was able to keep most of his assests, including his palaces, servants and private fortune.   In 1970, when the Indian Government abolished princely titles, privileges and privy purses, the 8th Nizam took the momentous decision to settle in Australia, to carve out the life of a "gentlemen farmer".  He now lives in Turkey.

The old bridge across the Murchison River
Today, this 350,000 acre family run property (which includes 60 klms of Indian Ocean shore line and over 30 klm of flood plains) is endeavouring to continue the pastoral traditions of the past and offers an insight into outback life, although the property is scattered with decaying wrecks of machinery and vehicles which makes it look rather run down.  
"Water Buffalo....a 1943 landing craft built in the USA and brought to the property by the Prince. 


These days, Murchison House Station focuses on the production of beef cattle, rangeland goats as well as offering a range of tours such as quad bike safaris and canoe safaris on the Murchison River and accommodation such as camping along the banks of the river...not good for caravans though...too much soft sand.


Easter Cottage - the original Blacksmiths residence and workshop complete in 1901.
Currently under repair and it certainly needs a lot of work.

Shearers Cottage
In the cemetery lies the graves of RN Fawcett and EW Broad who where the pilot and mechanic aboard one of planes that were participating in Australia's first commercial air service.  They were tragically killed when their plan crashed on Murchison House Station in 1921

RIP
.